The Best Cheap Leica M Mount Lenses

Two things that you never thought you’d read in the same sentence are Leica and Cheap. And indeed, Leica lenses themselves aren’t cheap. But if you’re like me, then you can’t have just one. If I buy a Leica lens, I’m going to want all of them. And one day, I’ll figure out which one I want to start with. In the meanwhile though, there are cheap Leica M mount lenses that are pretty awesome. We’ve reviewed lots of them and if you’re trying to figure out which ones to get, then take a look.

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How we Selected the Best Cheap Leica M Mount Lenses

Here’s some insight into how we selected the best cheap Leica M mount lenses:

• Our Editorial policies don’t allow us to ethically speak about products that we haven’t tested. Lucky for you though, we’ve tested nearly every lens under the sun these days. All these photos were shot by our staff. What’s more, each section has a hyperlinked review.
• All of these cheap Leica M mount lenses are made in China. But that shouldn’t discount you from getting them. The build quality and overall image quality is still quite good.
• Street photographers and portrait photographers will adore these cheap Leica m mount lenses.
• All of these lenses are insanely affordable and typically run under $700.
• These are only three cheap Leica M mount lenses out there. We’ve reviewed lots more, but we think these are truly some of the best.

7Artisans 35mm f2

Pros

• Full aperture stops only
• Sharp images
• Beautiful bokeh
• Small and lightweight
• Metal body

Cons

• Nothing really, except that it’s not Leica’s quality, Zeiss’s quality or Voigtlander’s quality. But it’s still very good.

In our review, we state:

The colors from the 7Artisans 35mm f2 tend to be a bit more muted and cooler than I’ve seen with first party Leica lenses. That’s absolutely fine for sure if you like that look. Hey, it means that you can load up your camera with CineStill 800T and get even more of that beautiful Blade Runner look when shooting in Daylight environments at night. If you want Leica’s vibrant and warm colors, then get a Leica. I’d like to equate the 7Artisans 35mm f2 lens to something more akin to that of Voigtlander vs Leica in the same way that people can consider Canon vs Nikon lenses. While Nikon lenses offer a more cool tone to them, Canon’s lenses tend to warm the scene up and make skin tones look phenomenal.

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TTArtisans 28mm f5.6

Pros

• Solid build quality
• Nice images
• Zone focusing at its best
• Still has nice lens character
• A classic look
• Much more affordable than Leica’s at less than $300.

Cons

• You’re still going to want the Leica lens.
• I couldn’t get it to mount on the new Techart LMEA9 adapter.

In our review, we state:

“The TTArtisan 28mm f5.6 is a small, solid, fairly lightweight lens for Leica M-mount. If you’re a street photography lover, this is perfect for you. Set your camera to a high ISO, zone focus the lens, walk up to anything, and shoot. You’ll get the photo you want. The image quality is loaded with character that others would call things like chromatic aberration, ghosting, flaring, etc. But that’s the point of a lens like this. You’re not buying into a clinical look, and MTF charts tell you nothing about the romance of the photo. Folks will mostly want to use this during the daytime, but that’s perfectly fine for most street photographers.”

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Mitakon 50mm f0.95

Pros

• Metal exterior
• Good build quality
• Long and accurate focus throw
• Beautiful image quality
• Looks good on film and digital
• Built in lens good
• Rangefinder coupled
• It’s pretty affordable and varies based on the mount you’re using it with.

Cons

• Why no lens contacts?
• Still pretty big overall
• Totally unbalanced on a modern Leica M body
• Not weather sealed

In our review, we state:

“The Mitakon 50mm f0.95 III is a pretty good lens overall. It’s built well, has beautiful optics, and will slow you down. Otherwise, you can use it with zone focusing and make great photos. Mitakon could’ve given this lens AF contacts and weather sealing, but they didn’t. Either way, also know that it pairs well with Kodak Portra 400.”

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The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.